Deus Ex Sermo
by FluffySheepLion
Summary: The world is a giant program. Every program runs on a code to smoothly process information. Bugs are small inconsistencies that occur when programs aren't properly coded. Every program has bugs, and someone needs to fix them all. Takes place after the Asia rescue.
1. Prologue

Deus Ex Sermo

Prologue: The Processor

-Talking-

- _Thoughts-_

- **Trapped Entity/ System-**

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" _What is going on!?_ " screamed a dark haired beauty internally. Her normally tame, smooth black hair was a mess, filled with leaves and caked with dirt. The pristine, yet generic, high school uniform was torn in several places. Her buttery, pale skin was splotched with mud. This all accumulated within just the few minutes she had been running. This girl was Yuuma Asano, a.k.a. the fallen angel Raynare.

Her eyes were filled with fear as she ran. How appropriate that she would be running for her life in the same park where she had killed Issei Hyoudou. It was almost funny. Her life would end just after she had managed to get away from that stupid club of devils.

A quick glance back revealed two glowing green lights in the woods. She screamed, only to run into a familiar fountain that she knew quite well. Still, the lights edged closer.

"NO! I will not die like this!" The fallen angel gave a quick twirl, her clothing exploding off her body to be replaced by less than modest black straps. Her body rapidly matured and filled out until she looked to be in her late twenties. Sadly her wings had been clipped in her last battle, but she could still summon her light lance, a jagged spear of red energy.

The lamp light surrounding the fountain was enough to partially reveal her hunter. It seemed to look like an average male high school student, but no human could have eyes that apathetic. A shiver raced up her spine, igniting some instinctual "fight or flight" responses in her shoulder muscles that she could no longer make use of. The fear on her face only grew.

 **SAVE STATE**

Yuuma threw her spear with precision accuracy, nailing the thing in the chest. A burst of electricity shorted from its eyes, but it made no noise.

 **LOAD STATE**

Yuuma threw her spear, but the figure simply sidestepped. A grid spread from its feet and stuck to Yuuma, preventing her from moving as a wireframe overlapped her form. The figure continued closer, his eyes never leaving Yuuma's bountiful chest, or the blackish-blue light that emanated from it. Despite not reaching eye contact, Yuuma could still clearly make out the shapes in the thing's ocular sockets; rings. Too many rings to be natural and all a sickly green color.

 **RUN DEBUG**

All of the air in Yuuma's body left her. She was frozen, trapped, and completely helpless. Its hand glowed the same color as its eyes. The voice that followed was deep and chilling. "Run Function: Extract."

In one swift movement the glowing hand shot forward, sinking into her chest and reaching for that light inside. Yuuma felt like she was choking on her own heart. Slowly, agonizingly so, it pulled the black light out of her chest. Only when it was fully pulled out was Yuuma allowed to scream.

 **DEBUG COMPLETE**

 **-** Kuoh Academy, Early Morning, The Next Day-

Hyoudou Issei was currently dreading what his homeroom class had in store. Being the average, brunet male, super pervert that he was, any time when he wasn't thinking about boobs was torture. He sighed inwardly, "Why does my life suck?"

The teacher walked in shortly before the bell rang. "Sorry, class. I was finalizing some documents for the new student that will be joining us." Instantly each person in the class was in an uproar. Everyone wanted to know: was it a boy/girl, were they hot/ cute, what were their sizes, and were they a pervert?

"Settle down class!" yelled the teacher, instantly cowing all of the students. "May I introduce Ms. Yuuma Asano."

Issei's eyes shot to the front of the class as the girl walked in. Her black hair was shorter than he remembered, and her body was much more modest, but he could never forget that face. The face of the woman that had killed him.

Amano gave a short bow. "Hello, my name is Yuuma Asano. I hope you treat me well." It was clear that the class wanted to know more about her, but she didn't feel like sharing. Her seat was the second from the back on the inner wall of the classroom. A constant trepidation could be seen in her eyes by anyone who was looking. On the way to her seat she passed a pleading glance at Issei. " _Now what does she want?"_

-Kuoh Academy, Early Morning, After Homeroom-

It was during the first passing period that Issei got his first chance to talk to Yuuma. She was still shaking, as if that was her natural motion. Needless to say, Issei wasn't happy.

"Talk, Raynare. Why are you here?"

The girl started rocking on the balls of her feet. "Actually, it's Yuuma Asano. Just Yuuma Asano."

Issei gave her a quizzical stare. "Do you think I'm stupid or something?"

Yuuma took in a huge gulp. "I'm human."

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Alright, there is the prologue. I honestly don't know if I will be continuing this, but I needed to get the thing out of my head and into a text document. I haven't seen this type of story before and it has been gnawing at me. For those of you wondering, "Deus ex Sermo" is "The Word of God." Draw from that what you will. Anyway, Review, Follow, Favorite, and if anyone wants to draw inspiration from it, please contact me. I would love to read it.


	2. The Unknown Element

Deus Ex Sermo

Chapter 1: The Moderator

-Talking-

- _Thoughts-_

- **Trapped Entity/ System-**

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Only after looking over the characters and the anime again did I realize that I messed up 'Yuuma's' last name. Whatever, she is now an Asano for this fic. That is why it is fanfiction. (Honestly more surprised I wasn't called out on that.)

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-Kuoh Academy- Early Evening- ORC Clubroom-

To say that the meeting was awkward would be an understatement. Immediately after school was over, Issei dragged his, now human, ex-girlfriend to the Occult Research Clubroom. The first one to notice her was the club president, and resident Royal Devil, Rias Gremory. The scarlet haired beauty glared down at the being that had dared to harm members of her peerage. The next was Asia Argento, the blonde ex-nun that died at the hands of the former fallen angel. Her first instinct was to hide behind Kiba Yuuto, Rias Gremory's [Knight] and the school's pretty-boy. His sacred gear, Sword Birth activated, summoning a blade of shadows to his hand and a wall of various magical swords in between himself and Yuuma. Apparently Rias' [Queen], Akeno Himejima, and her [Rook], Koneko Toujou, were out fulfilling contracts.

Seeing the look on Issei's face, which was usually carefree but now was filled with barely contained rage, told Rias that this was not a social visit. Even more convincing was the deep blush and sheepish expression that Yuuma wore. Still…

"Alright," Rias started, trying to be civil, "Why are you here, Raynare?"

"Actually, it's just Yuuma. I'm human."

"Bullshit," cried out Rias' [Knight].

"She's telling the truth, Kiba." Issei defended, though it obviously pained him to say so. Even Rias was taken aback. Issei continued, "She signed up for this school through Kaichou."

The implications of what Issei said hit everyone like a rock. The Kaichou, or Student Body President, Sona Sitri, was the current heir to the demonic house of Sitri, much like how Rias was the heir to Gremory. If Ray- Yuuma could enter the school with Kaichou's permission then something happened to Yuuma deeming her 'not a threat.' Rias caved.

"Fine, take a seat, Yuuma-san." Yuuma gave a quick nod and took a seat on the club's couch. Kiba removed his swords from the scene while Issei remained standing. Rias folded her hands onto her desk.

"How does a fallen angel become human?" Rias asked in a tone demanding an answer. The rest of the club members looked at Yuuma expectantly.

"Umm, well… I wasn't always a fallen angel."

"How is that possible?" asked Kiba, "You can't be reincarnated into a fallen angel.

"N-No, but you can be reincarnated as an angel." Eyebrows rose at this statement. "Like how devils have the evil piece system, angels have something known as a Brave Saints system. Powerful angels are given suits, like with playing cards, and can reincarnate humans into angels using those cards. Then they can be turned into a fallen angel the natural way."

This time it was Asia's turn to speak. "You were chosen by the angels themselves and you still turned into a fallen angel?"

Yuuma cringed. "I will always be grateful to Lady Gabriel for acknowledging me, but I was an angel for five years. All of the rules, regulations, stipulations, taboos, it was too much for me. Being a fallen angel was so much easier."

"Hold up." All eyes turned to Issei. "Just how old are you?" Leave it to Issei to get off topic.

"Physically 16, though I think I'm almost 50 by now. My alias right now is Yuuma Asano II, my own granddaughter." At the answer, Issei turned to sulk in the corner.

"I went out with an old lady…"

"Who are you calling old!?" Yuuma yelled.

"Yuuma-san, back on topic," started Rias, "How were you turned human again?"

Yuuma pulled her knees to her chest and let a harsh shiver rock her body. She began explaining about how she escaped from the church the night of Asia's 'ceremony', she got several glares for that, and found her way to the park. Issei was brought out of his slump when he heard this and started laughing. The irony was real.

"Anyway," Yuuma growled, obviously embarrassed by her blunder and mad at Issei for laughing at it, "Shortly after I reached the park there was a boy just standing there. Of course I was weak at the time so I tried to see if I could get a favor from him. I changed from my fallen angel form to my civilian form in order to convince him. Of course I changed out of his view so he should have had no idea."

Rias furrowed her brow. ' _Should have…?'_

"I walked up to him and asked for help when he turned to me. He stated "Target Aquired", chanted some latin, and started chasing after me. The strange thing was he felt completely human."

Rias immediately thought "Rogue Exorcist."

"That wasn't the scary part. The scary part was when his eyes shifted into nothing but glowing green rings. You have to understand that I was weak, it was the dead of night, and the entire time I was being chased those were the only things I saw."

"I must have been running for fifteen when I finally decided to hurt him. At the time I had just reached the fountain-" more laughter from Issei "- and I could see him from the lamp lights. He was wearing a Kuoh uniform and had short, brown hair."

Rias made sure to file that away for later.

"Imagine my surprise when he sidesteps my light spear and freezes me in place without magic and without touching me."

Yuuma nearly broke down in tears. The makeup she had put on that morning was beginning to smear. She slowly rocked back and forth in her seat.

"For a second I though he was just a powerful pervert. I couldn't move, I could barely breathe, and he was reaching my chest with one hand. He said something, I can't remember what, and then his hand sunk into my chest. Literally through my chest."

Rias' brow furrowed further while Issei, Kiba, and Asia had wide eyes. "I don't know how, but he was able to rip out my Saint card."

The room was bathed in silence as Yuuma's statement processed in the minds of the ORC. The gentle squeaking of the sofa from Yuuma's movements was the only thing that could be heard. Issei and Asia looked sick, Kiba was looking green, and Rias was the definition of horrified.

"Umm, sorry for dropping this on you," Yuuma stated, trying to break the silence.

"No, that's fine." Rias replied, obviously struggling to find her words.

"Can I go? I still have my history homework to finish."

"Y-yes…"

The former fallen angel wiped away her tears as she headed for the door. Nobody attempted to stop her.

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-Unknown Location- That Night-

The house was non-descript. This mass manufactured abode currently had most of the lights shut off. The only lighting active was in the kitchen. Smoke could be seen coming from the dish that had just been pulled out of the oven. The resident of the house sighed. "Fourth time that's happened. What could be the problem?"

 **LOAD STATE**

The boy looked over the ingredients again. "Ah, expired. That explains it." The offending materials were quickly thrown into the trash.

" _It's only been an hour since sunset. Maybe there will be a restaurant open…"_

The boy headed to the bathroom to give himself a once over. The LOAD STATE command cleaned his clothing of the mess he had made in the kitchen. He looked entirely average. His casual clothing of khakis and a T-shirt fit him loosely while his short cut brown hair was parted to the left and gave him a nerdy look. Resting on his face was a pair of glasses, full rimmed and thick as a quarter. It only took a glance for him to notice some stray hairs and comb them back into place.

' _Yeah, that will do.'_

Once outside his house he gave the lock a tap. "Run Function: Lock." A click could be heard as the mechanisms inside the door reworked themselves. In truth there was no keyhole on the door, just the inner locking mechanisms. _"So glad I made that decision."_

" _The nearest café would be closed at this time. Is… yeah, that should still be open."_

 **BUG DETECTED**

" _Well, there goes my night,"_ the boy thought, though he didn't seem displeased. In one motion he took off his glasses, flicked them closed, and clipped them to his pocket.

"Deus Ex Sermo."

It was like a switch had been flipped and the boy's vision went from blurry to perfect. His eyes physically changed to white before several green circles formed on them. Similarly green lines appeared in his line of sight, following the road like a GPS. A waypoint with a distance could be seen beyond the horizon.

"Alright Meta-kun, where is it?"

 **DESTINATION: ABANDONED CHURCH**

"Of course. Couldn't be at the local MgRonalds or anything."

 **CHANCES OF A BUG AT DESTINATION "MGRONALDS" ARE NEGLIGABLE JOSHIRO-KUN**

"Not surprised. Lead the way."

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And there's another chapter. I was honestly surprised at the response this fic got. Usually it takes a bit to get a favorite or follow. Maybe it's just the fandom. Anyway, glad for anyone who enjoyed this and thank you to anyone who reviewed.

Barajas: Hopefully this chapter answers your question.

Frozem1: Yeah, definitely closer to a moderator than the big man himself.

The truth behind Yuuma has come to light, the OC has made his first true appearance, and he's off to fix another problem. Follow, favorite, review, and I will see you all next chapter.


	3. Saved in the Church

Deus Ex Sermo

Chapter 2: The Hunters

-Talking-

- _Thoughts-_

- **Trapped Entity/ System-**

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 **ARRIVED AT DESTINATION**

A glance up and down the decrepit building was all Jo needed to confirm his suspicions. A thin streak of blood led up the stairs into the main building. The ornate, stained glass windows were all atleast partially broken. The cross on the room was cleaved in two.

"There's no way _that_ edit is organic."

 **AFFIRMATIVE**

A steady beeping echoed from inside the abandoned church, reaffirming the fact that a bug was inside. "Run Function: Lock - Variable: Emotion"

Instantly all of Jo's feelings shut off. All fear, anxiety, excitement, and every other emotion vanished from his system. No, vanished isn't quite right. A more appropriate analogy would be they were shoved into a safe that only he could open. They weren't lost, just sealed.

The double doors to the church opened with an overly loud, rusted creak.

 **SAVE STATE**

A deep growl echoed from the podium. "Yes, well, I was getting hungry. So nice of my food to come to me."

The owner of the voice seemed feminine, but it could in no way be described as a woman. It was grotesquely fat, with a stomach the size of the rest of its body. Its arms would but most athletes to shame, but connected to the wrists were feet. What must have been a very lovely chest had merged into one giant breast with four nipples oozing blue slime. The 'face' was a blank slate of skin save two nostril slits. It should have been impossible for it to communicate, if it didn't have a comically large mouth resting on its stomach. The nostrils sniffed the air, drawing in several deep breaths.

"It isn't very often that a full human comes to me willingly. You will be… Delicious."

Jo watched as the thing stood on its 'feet'. The formerly hidden leg-like appendages curled forward to reveal sickles.

'So that's what cut the cross.'

"Run Function: Workspace. Mode Change: Edit."

A textile grid the same color as Jo's eyes spread from his feet, capturing himself, the stray, and the entirety of the church. The grid would have blinded most viewers, but only Jo could see it.

 **SAVE STATE**

"I'm going to enjoy eating you!"

The stray charged, sickles raised high, poised to strike at any moment. Down they fell, easily cutting through Jo without the slightest resistance or hesitation. The two halves of his body fell to the floor motionless, save his eyes which sparked green. A slight static echoed through the air.

 **LOAD STATE**

"I'm going to enjoy eating you!"

The stray charged, sickles raised high, poised to strike at any moment. Down they fell, only to hit air and clang against the concrete floor. Jo dodged the strike by dropping to the floor and rolling to the side. The stray, unable to stop the momentum of its swing, fell to the ground, flat on its mouth.

 **RUN DEBUG**

The beast that had been struggling to stand went still as the grid wrapped around it, ceasing much hope of it even breathing. Jo stood over it with a look of disgust. "Even with my emotions sealed, the shadow of my disgust lingers. I will be glad when all of these accursed tools are destroyed."

Slowly, Jo climbed on top of the stray's back. "I am sorry, but this will hurt. Run Function: Extract." In one swift movement his hand sunk into the stray's back and pulled out a glowing red chess piece.

 **CEASE DEBUG**

The first thing the beast did was scream, the same as all the others. Having a foreign object removed from a soul was nothing pleasant. Then the screaming continued, though the pitch warbled as its body collapsed in on itself. The flesh shifted like gum, proportioning itself into the vague shape of a human body. As the mouth moved up the body it expelled copious amounts of waste from its ever shrinking stomach, most likely whatever was left or inedible from its victims. Only when its limbs reshaped into something more human, when the face returned to normal, when the hair regrew to its natural orange, shoulder length, did Jo feel comfortable referring to it as a 'she.'

Even with the changes done, her screaming didn't stop. Maybe it was her memories catching up to her, and her cleaned sense of morality trying to make light of all the horrible things she had committed. Whatever it was, it scared her. Scared her so much that she eventually passed out.

"It is alright now," Jo comforted the unmoving girl, gently stroking her hair, "you are you again."

 **TWO BUGS DETECTED**

 **LOCATION: OUTSIDE CHURCH ENTRANCE**

"Run Function: Translate. Parameters equals variable: "HealingRoom"." Jo and the debugged girl disappeared from the church as two figures walked in. White hair and a ribbon were the distinguishable characteristics Jo could easily remember.

When the nerdy boy reappeared at his location his sacred gear shut off. Quickly, he reached for his glasses. Without them he would be worse off than a bat during the day. His destination was a mostly empty parking lot in the back of a very large, square building. Jo knocked on the blue door in front of him. It took a couple minutes, but it was eventually answered. The answerer was a rather largely built, male nurse.

"I was wondering when you would show up again. Just opened up a new bed in 'The White Room.'" That's right, the "HealingRoom" was the local hospital. The white room was a small room put aside by the hospital to care for those that Jo brought in. He would bring in patients often enough that it was necessary. The white room consisted of three beds, some books, and a television. It was meant to feel comfortable while the patients recovered, but not so much so that they became attached.

"So where did you find this one, Joshiro-kun?"

"The abandoned church, attacking everything that came near her." Well, it wasn't a lie.

"Why is it that you find so many strays at the abandoned church?" Jo had to hold back a sigh at the nurse's phrasing.

"I couldn't tell you." In truth this was the fourth stray in the last year he had found in the church, and while the Fallen campaign that had occupied it for some time that didn't stop the fact that stray devils more often than not drawn to the building.

The nurse ruffled the teen's hair before taking the orange-haired young woman that Jo had dragged behind him. There were some scrape marks on her legs from where they weren't lifted off the ground, but they weren't too pronounced.

"Anyway, thanks again, Joshiro-kun. Every life saved counts."

"I can't argue against that. Have a nice night, Hotaru-san."

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-Kouh Academy – The Next Day – ORC Club Room

Rias paced behind her desk as she took in the information she received from her [Queen]. The "Unknown", the title she and Kaicho had decided upon for their new problem, was found at the den of a stray that the Gremory clan was contracted to take out. Not only was The Unknown dangerous, but now he was insulting her by interfering with her business. This would not stand.

"Akeno, did you manage to find any more info on The Unknown from your encounter last night?"

"Ufufu, no Buchou, sorry. Though he did take the stray with him when he left." Rias cocked an eyebrow.

"Took it how?"

"Changed her back to human. Her orange hair was quite striking." The dark haired Onee-sama gained a slight gloss in her eyes as her thoughts drifted. The president snapped several times, bringing Akeno back from her fantasies.

"Listen Akeno, I want you to find this kid and follow him. If you can, bring him to me. We need to know why he is here."

"Ufufu, of course, Buchou. Though I can't guarantee he will be unharmed."

"I have no objection to that." Akeno sensually licked her lips, thinking of all the fun she could have with her new playmate.

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-Kuoh- An Hour Later - Market-

" _Let's see, Eel, Pork, Shrimp, what else?"_ Asia was walking through the local market in Kuoh. It was only an hour or so until the market closed and she was running a few errands. After being reincarnated as a Devil, Asia began living at the Hyoudou household with Issei's family. Of course she would feel grateful and run some errands for them. True this was the first errand she ran for them as she only began living there a couple days ago, but she had no qualms with doing so. She chose the market because, according to Buchou, 'The store is full of beings from all factions. It would be much too dangerous.'

Looking through the stalls, it wasn't difficult for the blonde nun to find what she needed. _"Ah, eggs."_ The vendor greeted her warmly. His eggs looked good quality. She was quick to buy up a dozen and be on her way. _"All that's left should be the cabbage."_

Too occupied with her task and her thoughts, the little nun tripped over her own feet. The seafood and pork stayed in her basket, but the carton of eggs flew into the air. It only took a second for a brown blur to catch the carton and steady her.

"Hey, you okay?" asked the boy holding out her carton of eggs.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." Her eyes did a quick scan of the bespectacled boy. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"I'm sorry. I'm Masa Joshiro. We are in the same English course."

"Oh, okay. It was nice seeing you, Joshiro-kun. I still have some errands to finish. I'll see you in class."

The boy smiled and waved her away. As they walked away Asia never heard him say, "Target Aquired."

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Jo has his sights set on one of the peerage, Akeno is hunting him down, and we now know what Jo does with the people he saves. Next chapter: The Fallen. Favorite, follow, review, and I will see you all next chapter.


	4. The Fallen

Deus Ex Sermo

Chapter 3: The Fallen

-Talking-

- _Thoughts-_

- **Trapped Entity/ System-**

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-The Next Evening- Masa Residence-

 **LOAD STATE**

Jo did not look amused as his kitchen reoriented itself. "This is why I eat out so often."

 **SUGGESTION: COOK BOOK**

"Not funny, Meta-kun." The brunette fixed his glasses, just like every other time he had reset. Jo really had no talent for cooking. His reasons for cooking were practice and boredom. The small explosions were always entertaining. It was also a good time waster in between-

 **BUGS DETECTED**

-Those.

"How many Meta-kun?"

 **VARIABLES: ARGENTO ASIA AND UNKNOWN**

Ah, the elusive Argento. His next target was such an impossibility. The little nun, the epitome of innocence and good will, apparently held an Evil Piece. This puzzled him as he had no clue if she chose this life or if it was forced upon her. She didn't seem like the type to willingly accept it though.

"Any ideas on the unknown?"

 **VARIABLE RECOGNIZED, VARIABLE UNDEFINED**

"So it has shown itself to us before, yet we know too little about it to place it… Probably one of the beings from the church the other night."

 **PROBABILITY: 79%**

"Devils don't generally get along with other devils, so they must be in a FAMILY. This means either the unknown is the PARENT, or just another CHILD to an unknown PARENT. Meta, locations."

 **LOCATIONS: CROSSROADS**

"So they are at the park… Why is it always the park? Don't answer that, Meta." A small burst of static let Jo know Meta understood.

 **UPDATE: UNDEFINED VARIABLE DIVERGING**

"Where are they headed?"

 **LOCATION = MASA JOSHIRO**

 **SAVE STATE**

A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, crashing through a window and nailing Jo in the back. His breath left him in an instant as his internal organs were fried. The smell of charred skill filled the air. A rather large hole was left in its wake.

"Ufufufu, I didn't expect him to be that weak. Buchou won't be happy about this."

 **LOAD STATE**

A bolt of lightning shot through a window which Jo barely dodged. The blast caught his left arm, leaving a long sear mark and melting part of his shirt. A good chunk of the wall, and most of the kitchen, was gone.

"Ufufufu, this will be fun. I didn't think you noticed me. You're tougher than you look."

Looking through the hole in the wall, Jo saw a voluptuous beauty. Her dark hair was tied in a ponytail, she held a sadistic yet sultry expression, she was garbed in a red and white hakama, and she had two devil wings protruding from her back. He would have to be stupid to not recognize one of the great Onee-sama of Kuoh Academy, Himejima Akeno. Jo calmly took off his classes and clipped them to his pocket.

"I have to say, I did not see this coming, senpai. While I am flattered that you would visit me personally, I don't appreciate you destroying my home." Akeno gave her little laugh.

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't remember all of my kohai. Care to introduce yourself?"

"Weren't you going to kill me? What would be the point?"

"I wasn't planning on killing you. You are trouble, but you still are an academy student. Can't have any questions raised about why someone disappeared." Jo had to give her credit, this was at least decently thought through. _'The way she talked made it unclear if she was the PARENT or just a CHILD. Though did she also mean that she had a way to mess with memories? Has she messed with mine?'_

Jo quickly turned that thought away. "I'll tell you once I've debugged you. Deus Ex Sermo." His previously blurry vision cleared and the familiar rings emerged. Recognition emerged in Akeno's eyes.

"So you're the one from the other night. And here I was just thinking you were a powerful unknown. Buchou will be pleased when I take you back to her."

' _So she can sense the power of those around her. Interesting.'_ Then another thought crossed his mind.

"Huh, so she is a CHILD." He jumped as another bolt of lightning struck at his feet.

"What did you call me?" That sadistic expression was even more pronounced than before.

"-sigh- I really wish more people understood coding. Run Function: Workspace. Mode Change: Edit."

Once again the familiar green grid formed. It stretched from his feet until it covered a forty meter radius.

"Pretty light show. What is it supposed to do?"

Meta locked Jo's emotions before he could retort.

 **TASK: BUG REMOVAL – START**

"Translate." The [Queen] fired off another bolt of lightning as Jo vanished from his spot, reappearing squat in a square on the grid three spaces to the left. He touched both palms to the ground.

"Extrude." Akeno's next bolt grazed Jo, but a one meter by one meter square of earth shot up from beneath her, smacking her away. Jo's eye twitched as he vaguely registered the pain in his side. It wasn't nearly as bad as being vaporized and blown up, but it still stung.

Akeno landed on a piece of intact roofing. Normally it would be expected to hear groans of pain from someone who just got a Gaean uppercut, but not her. She was moaning in pleasure as her masochistic tendencies took over.

"Ufufufu, this one may just be worth it."

"Translate."

"What?"

The cube of roof supporting her top half disappeared. Caught off guard, the devil fell from her resting spot right onto her skull.

 **SAVE STATE**

Jo stood from his spot, grid tiles lighting up to show him the way to his target. Getting there was easier said than done given his burning side, melted shirt, and the general disarray of his home, but he managed. The room Akeno landed in was the garage, meaning the only comfort for her cranium was cold, hard concrete. Enough to knock her unconscious for at least ten minutes. Plenty enough time for Jo to fix her error. Thunder echoed in the distance.

Taking the single step to the houses foundation took much more effort than Jo would have preferred. His balance nearly went out from under him as he stumbled into the frigid room. If his emotions weren't locked then he may have taken a moment to appreciate the form of the unconscious Onee-sama. Again thunder echoed, closer this time.

 **RUN DEBUG**

The familiar green netting took hold. Akeno may have enjoyed this bit if she weren't out cold. Jo raised his arm. "Run Func-"

 **TRANSLATE**

Jo felt his body lurch backwards at Meta's command. A bolt of lightning many times stronger than Akeno's tore through the roof in an arc that would have decapitated Jo. Another flash of light and a huge figure with ten black wings appeared in the room.

Jo grit his teeth, his emotion lock starting to fail. "Cadre." His eyes sparked dangerously.

The huge figure reached down and tore Akeno from the net with relative ease, constantly glaring down at Jo. He was gone with a single wing beat.

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

When Akeno awoke she was in bed with her [King] and had a mild concussion. Said [King] was holding on to her [Queen] like she could break at any moment. She must have cried herself to sleep if the stains on Akeno's uniform was any indication. Kiba slept in a chair near on the far wall, fully clothed and a demonic sword in hand. Koneko sat at the padded window sill, her golden eyes vigilantly watching for any possible intruders. Her gaze briefly shifted over to Akeno, bringing a small smile to the [Rook] before she went back to watching the window. Akeno couldn't help but return the expression.

Not wanting to disturb any of the peerage, Akeno simply closed her eyes again and enjoyed the embrace of her [King].

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

 **LOAD STATE**

Jo felt his hands mend for the umpteenth time. He spent the past ten half hours punching his newly fixed wall.

 **HAVE PARAMETERS FOR VARIABLE MOOD INCREASED?**

"I don't want to hear it, Meta. That Cadre had no business interfering."

 **FALSE. PLAY MEMORIES.**

Two windows with green borders opened in front of Jo, a short 'bwip!' sound effect following. Both showed scenes of lightning being fired from his error ridden senpai and the cadre. Rapid blinking ensued.

"Buh, buh, buh, are you implying that she was _his_?"

 **AFFIRMATIVE**

"But, she's a, he's a, they can't-" The sound of a dial-up connection filled the house as he tried to piece together everything. A loud 'PING!' sounded upon his realization. "She's bugged. That's why it makes sense. Then she is at least half fallen. That would also explain why she could see the grid."

That was something Jo had concluded early on, as only angels and fallen angels could see the green effects of his sacred gear.

"Then that means there is a PARENT somewhere in Kuoh with a half devil descendant of a cadre as their CHILD. This could be troublesome."

-RINGRINGRING-

"Now what!?"

Jo unlocked his phone and slammed it against his ear.

"Now is not a good time!"

"Wow, I 'aven't 'eard you like zis in quite a while. What 'appened?" Jo knew that French accent.

"What is it, Phil?" he asked while fixing his glasses.

"I 'ave a problem, my friend. One zat requires your expertise."

"I'm kind of in the middle of something here."

"Please! Zere is no way I could get past zis zing wizout your aziztance."

"Are you going to keep calling me back until I get over there?"

"Oui."

"How long will this take?"

"Not long. Couple days at most, I promise."

"Fine, just let me find someone to watch the town while I'm away."

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Akeno and Jo had a little tiff, some new characters are getting introduced, a special guest showed up to save Akeno, and we got a little fluff with the Gremory peerage. This seems like a good place to stop. So, I want to know, should next chapter be following Jo to help Phil or should we stay in town and follow who Jo brings in to keep watch? Either way, review, favorite, follow, and I will see you all next chapter.


	5. Sanctuary

Deus Ex Sermo

Chapter 4: The Church

-Talking-

 _-Thoughts-_

 **-Trapped Entity/ System-**

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

-Late the next day- Paris, France-

"Ah! My friend-!" -SMACK- The sound of fist on cheek echoed throughout the cluttered cellar where Jo translated in. Phillius Durand rubbed his now bruising face. The Frenchman had short blond hair died mostly black. His black button-up shirt and green slacks hugged his slim frame. He looked simply affronted at his friend's actions towards him.

"You are lucky I got Bell to watch over Kuoh or I would have done much worse. I have a target already."

Phil couldn't help but chuckle. "Do not worry. Zis will not be a waste of your time." Jo leaned back against a railing with his arms crossed. _"This better be good."_

"I needed somezing from ze local church. Nozing frivolous I assure you." Jo rolled his eyes. _"_ _You said that the last five times."_ "This item is of ze utmost importance, you see. I needed to prepare before attempting to procure it. I have used the past three weeks to fully understand the layout of the church. Sadly, the last time I went zere was a rather large obstacle. I'm surprised you 'aven't noticed 'er yet."

 **RUN FUNCTION: SCAN**

Instantly several errors popped up, but there was one significantly larger coming from just North of Jo's location. "I noticed." The moderator pushed away from his leaning position, now invested in the job.

"Yes, well, she is stopping me from procuring ze thing zat I want. I figured this is somezing you would prefer to deal with."

"You're not wrong."

"Zen shall we prepare?"

-Same Time- Kuoh-

Koneko glanced warily at the fat child that stood idle with the school's male population. While the meaningless perverts whooped and hollered at the tennis match between Rias, Akeno, and the class president and vice president, the boy just stood there, occasionally pitching in with some polite clapping. The pint sized [Rook] normally would have payed this no mind, but this was Kuoh. The only boys at this school, aside from Kiba, were massive perverts. The four most desired girls in the school were jumping around in tiny, color coordinated sports bras and matching skirts yet the boy payed them almost no mind. He couldn't have been too young to be interested because he was wearing the Kuoh uniform. Obviously he was enrolled. Though it was funny how Koneko had never seen him before. The boy had wild brown, almost pink, hair and silver eyes. With traits like those one would think they would remember the boy.

The match was 30/30 and it looked like neither side was going to give an inch. The male students didn't seem to mind, especially the perverted trio who were soaking up every second with camera flashes. The mysterious boy just rubbed his eyes and yawned before heading back to the school. Koneko followed.

It was strange walking an empty campus during school hours. The environment was almost alien compared to what normally occurred. The school was so quiet that Koneko was having difficulty following the kid unheard. He didn't seem to notice though, apparently too focused on his location. A smooth clicking of his tongue could be heard as he pointed his ways through the halls. His destination: the vending machines?

The kid calmly slid the required coins into the slot. Koneko was dumbfounded.

"What?"

The kid's response was appropriate; gasping at the sudden noise, flailing at the loss of his balance, and just barely catching himself on the edge of the vending machine. He took a second to right himself and and his heartrate. He took a quick, embarrassed look around before reaching into the machine.

"Kitkat?" he asked, handing over the candy in an attempt to save face. The [Rook] quickly swiped it.

"Who are you?" The boy chuckled sheepishly.

"Sorry, my name is Zusa Bell. Please call me Bell, Koneko-chan."

"How do you know my name?" the loli snapped.

"You are the unofficial mascot of this school. Everybody knows your name." Bell replied, putting more coins into the machine.

"I have not seen you around the school before."

"I'm really not surprised. I usually just fade into the background. I'm usually not seen as much more than a bug to most people." Koneko found that hard to believe. He was a living plush toy who willingly walked away from a perverse situation. Between his chubby cheeks, large eyes, and dorky demeanor, the female students would smother him to death if given the chance.

"Um, do you know when the tennis match is supposed to be over? School still has another two hours and it even attracted the faculty." Koneko gave him a blank stare as he reached for his new Kitkat.

"No, alright then. I better stock up on more Kitkats then." The last thing Koneko saw as she left was Bell throwing a wad of candy wrappers from his pocket.

Bell waited until he was sure Koneko was out of earshot. "Hm, so that was one of the ones that Jo was so worried about. Okay then." He silently entered more coins into the machine as a smile crossed his face. "She seemed nice."

-The Next Day -Back in Paris-

Jo's eye twitched as he stared at the "Church" that Phil had scouted. Of course… It was several stories tall, with stained glass for each window and hand carved gargoyles at every corner of the roof. Going up from the roof were two towers on opposite ends of the building.

"You are an idiot, Phil." The thief smiled like a loon at the "Church" before him.

"Maybe." His eyes glinted in the light of the sunset. Nearly everyone had left already and it was a Friday. Hopefully this would go as planned. Jo walked through the overly large front doors with Phil close behind him. At the alter stood a beautiful blonde woman in a white gown, obviously praying. Phil immediately went to the side, between a supporting column and a confessional. He made it to his hiding spot quick enough that the woman only noticed Jo, who walked to her at a leisurely pace. He wore a smile that could pass for genuine, but was anything but. The woman was so focused on Jo that she didn't notice Phil slip up a spiral staircase.

Jo sighed to himself. _'Ever the impatient, that one.'_

"'ello, and welcome to Notre Dam." She was such a sweet woman. It was such a pity she was bugged. "You are certainly late today. What brings you 'ere?"

"I would hope there isn't a curfew for prayer." He replied, still smiling. "I have found so many who had forsaken their souls and I was hoping to cleanse my own of their essence. Hopefully anyone can recieve a second chance."

"Of course!" The woman exclaimed with joy in her throat and tears in her eyes. "May I ask your name?"

"My name is Joshiro Masa. I am from Japan but I am on vacation with a friend of mine. Imagine my surprise when he shows me Notre Dam in all her majesty."

"And where is your friend now?"

"He went to grab supplies for dinner, Ms?"

"Oh, I am sorry. My name is Maria." Jo had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Of course he would find Saint Maria in Notre Dam.

"Thank you Maria. Now I assume you wouldn't hold it against him for not joining us tonight. God gave humanity free will for a reason, after all." Maria nodded fervently.

"Of course, of course. Please, the alter is just-"

GONG-GONG-GONG

 _'_ _Impatient idiot.'_

At the sound of the bell going off Maria immediately let loose a set of wings. Four feathered appendages each as white as snow and as long a she was tall. "Please, stay here. I must-"

"Deus Ex Sermo." Maria's eyes went wide as the familiar green grid lined the floor. A red, rotating elipse of code floated in front of Jo's hand which was flat against her back. "Break Function."

Instantly, the soft glow emitted from Maria's wings died. The added weight from the now dead wings pulled Maria to the ground with a thud. More thudding and several crashes could be heard coming from upstairs.

 **RUN DEBUG**

Maria choked as the netting encased her. "Sorry Maria, but you should know that humans make the best liars. Run Function: Extract." Jo refused to feel bad for the woman. Even as he sunk his hand through her chest to reach her Brave Saint card. And again the screams began once it was removed. Her white wings molted rapidly and dirtied to a more natural brown color. Then the blood began to pool as the wings broke away from the poor nun's spine.

It was at that moment that Phil came rushing down the staircase which promptly exploded. The thief had a red and black backpack which he hadn't worn on the way in.

"I see you used B.B. for this mission." Phil jumped over two sets of benches as two girls jumped down from the destroyed staircase.

"No time, my friend. Exorcists!" True to his word the women were wearing regulation church battle attire and had holy swords drawn. Both were blessed with voluptuous bodies. One had blonde hair in long pig tails while the other had neck length blue hair with a green bang. The hard gaze of the blue haired one sent a very clear message to any who faced her. Sadly, Jo didn't receive the message. That same cold gaze was returned just as frigid.

"Phil, you are an idiot. Meta, start the function. Variable: Bunker."

 **Affirmative**

Phil hurried over to his friend as the blonde started making exaggerated hand gestures and body motions. Apparently she saw the body of Maria.

"Oh these fiends! These heathens! How dare they strike down one of the chosen angels of god! Oh, if only I had been here sooner! I could have prevented this tragedy! Oh how the righteous has fallen!" That almost got a chuckle out of Jo. Of course that entire display gave Meta enough time to build up the function. The moderator gave a two finger send off before disappearing into his function circle without a trace.

Jo calmly walked out of Meta's function while Phil went immediately for the nearest sink, toilet, or bucket. He wasn't picky at the moment.

"How are you not used to that yet?" Jo asked, holding in a chuckle.

"You are a cruel friend, -urp."

"Did you get what you wanted?" The thief nodded into his bucket. "Good, now I'm going home."

-Same Time – Kuoh-

Once again, Koneko found herself tailing the strange boy from school, Bell. After the tennis match ended in a tie the ORC and the Student Council decided to settle things with dodge ball. Of course the planning and setup for that took a whole day, but it was worth it because the ORC won! Issei even made matching headbands for everyone. Koneko still felt uneasy about the event as there always seemed to be an extra set of eyes watching the court. Nothing perverse, but that still meant something was spying on them. Imagine her surprise when she saw Bell leaving the school grounds far too late into the evening to be casual. The victory prize for the dodge ball game was a chance at finding familiars for Issei and/or Asia. Koneko already had a familiar, so she opted to stay.

Bell didn't seem to show any signs of being supernatural, but he was still odd. It was almost eleven at night now and he just walked into a dango stand. He seemed to be a freshman like herself, yet he was walking around Kuoh like he had no responsibilities, no curfew, and no care in the world.

"Ah, Bell-san. Usual order?"

"Of course, Jiji."

Koneko couldn't see anything inside of the stand, but the smells enticed her sweet tooth and she couldn't resist. Once inside, Bell treated her with a wide smile. "Koneko-chan! It's good to see you again. Dango?" he asked while handing her a skewer. The mascot couldn't resist the offer and started nibbling on her treats.

"Go ahead. Eat as much as you want. I know I will." And so they ate in silence as the chef continued bringing out more skewers. They sat on their stools for what must have been an hour. Any glances that he passed towards her were always genuine. Eventually Bell put down 3000 yen on the dango. Maybe it was all the Dango, but something slowed Koneko down. Slow enough that Bell was able to land a kiss on her lips for two seconds before her mind caught up to her and she attempted to smash Bell through the stand.

The fist hit air as the seat was empty. Bell was standing at the curtain to leave. "A small amount of advice. Your ears are nothing to be ashamed of." Koneko ran out of the stall to catch up to him, but there was no sign of the chubby freshman. She scanned the vicinity for any trace of Bell, but there was nothing. That is until a green light erupted from the side of the Dango cart. Koneko rounded the corner as the light died. Nobody was there except Joshiro, readying another Translate function. Koneko's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What did you do with that kid?" Jo smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Kid?" And with a flash he was gone.

DXDXDXDXDXDXDX

Hey everyone. Sorry if the page format looks a bit different. I had to reset my computer. My fanfic chapters were saved but I lost Microsoft Office. Had to switch to Libre Office. Anyway, nobody voiced in on which chapter they wanted next so I did both. Another new character has been introduced, something has been stolen, Jo has met some familiar exorcists, and Koneko is pissed. Favorite, follow, review, and I will see you all next chapter.


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